May 18th arrived and I officially dubbed it Star Wars day. My wife dubbed it Dork Day, but that's another story for another blog. I had the morning off so I woke up early and watched The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and the Clone Wars back to back to back. This was to prepare me for the midnight premiere of George Lucas' third prequel, Revenge of the Sith.
I've waited a long time for this. A long time. I've watched the 5 other Star wars films more times than I can count. I saw The Empire Strikes Back when I was 5 in a Drive-In Theater. I got the Millennium Falcon for Christmas that year too. I've read 85 different Star Wars novels, George Lucas' biography, and countless SW comics. It's boggles the mind when I think of the amount of my life I've spent playing in the galaxy far, far away. So Sith is the payoff. The last film. The answers to all the questions. Do we fans have something to be proud of again? Does it pay off? Does it work? You bet your sweet ASS it does!
I'll try not to give away any plot points here. I'm gonna assume that my readers have seen the other films and know the characters, their history and their future. I'm just gonna comment on why this film is great and what i felt watching it.
Kal-El and I journeyed to the theater about an hour early and I popped in the Sith soundtrack. It made me smile so big, my mouth hurt. I'm gonna be smiling in giddy pleasure throughout this whole movie, I thought. Well, I was wrong, but for all the right reasons.
The first half of this movie is the most fun in ANY Star Wars film. There's humor, action, actually good dialog, good acting, incredible effects. It was perfect. Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen) face impossible odds and a suicide mission with jokes and camaraderie. I realized they're not just Jedi, they're Super Heroes. They never think they're gonna fail in their mission and can overcome any situation. And they're right. We also get a lot of laughs from R2-D2 here. Finally.
After this awesome battle and rescue, the film slows down and Lucas has his hardest challenge: Anakin must turn to the Dark Side. How does Darth Sidious get someone to betray his friends and Jedi brothers? By becoming a better friend to him. Anakin is reaching out to the Jedi in every scene here: Obi-Wan, Yoda, Mace. But only Obi-Wan trusts him. The Jedi council is wary of his power, his quick ascension from Padawan to Knight to Galactic Hero, and his friendship with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmond). Palpatine is the only one who offers Anakin answers, guidance, and loyalty. This theme is built upon for a good half hour, and the moment of truth comes at the end of Mace Windu's (Samuel L. Jackson) purple lightsaber. Does Anakin let the Jedi kill his mentor and friend (Palpatine) or does he turn on the Jedi who don't trust him and hold him back? The kicker is he believes Palpatine holds the key to saving his wife Padme's (Natalie Portman) life. So he turns for love. It's twisted and not entirely convincing. The audiance was actually laughing during this scene because of Palpatine's over the top "Save Me, Anakin!" routine and Gollum impression (you'll see). But once he turns, there's no going back. He's in it to win it, all the way.
You won't smile much for the rest of the film. It's freaking grim. You'll see the deaths of all the character's you've come to know in the last 2 films. Only Obi-Wan, Yoda, Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) and the droids survive (and C-3po has his memory erased). For Star Wars, this is uncharted territory. The purging of the Jedi is rough. Anakin's murderous rampage will mess up some little kids that see this. And the pain in both Anakin and Obi-Wan when they duel is real and intense.
I will not compare it to the original trilogy. I saw those films as a kid looking for an adventure in a different world. They weren't movies to me, they were other worlds that actually existed. But I will say Sith kicks the ass of TPM and AotC. There's still some weak dialog (witch is the ultimate reason I and II fail), but the acting by Christiansen, Portman and McGregor is greatly improved. And it's downright scary how much Ewan McGregor mirrors Sir Alec Guiness. It's uncanny. Also there's not many stupid lines from unnecessary minor characters with horrible accents. And no words from Jar-Jar! The battle droids seem to have developed some personality and I know people will crack on this, but I liked it. This film does elevate the first 2 in my eyes. I doubt I'd watch them sigularly, but as part of a whole (the 3 prequels or all 6 films) it works.
The film succeeds perfectly at bringing us full circle, with the ending foreshadowing the opening scenes of the original Star Wars. Stunning is the only way to describe it for a true Star Wars fan. When the credits rolled, there was a little applause, but mostly people where reflective. There was no laughing leaving the theater. It was like a funeral. In fact in more ways then one, it was. A funeral for the lost Jedi, for Padme, but mostly for Anakin. He doesn't just put on a suit to be Darth Vader. He transforms, he ceases to be Anakin Skywalker. It's also a funeral for the Star Wars films. The last performance. The circle is complete.
The Sneaky Cheetah's Grade: A+
2 comments:
I went to see it yesterday and thought it was really good. I loved that it opened with a huge battle going on right in the beginning. Just 2 questions: 1. what was the big lizard thing that Obi Wan was riding? It was cool. 2. what was Yoda talking about at the end to Obi Wan when he said he has some training for him to do?
All in all, I loved it!
ummmm Let me access the vast amount of useless knowledge in my giant brain...hhmmmmmmmmm.... The Giant Lizard is the tradional mount of the world Utaupau, the planet where Obi-Wan challenged General Grevious. Obi used the force to become friends with the creature after he sent his ship away as a decoy. It's name was Boga. Hmmmmmm.. Yoda was speaking of how a Jedi can live on in the Force after he dies. Qui-Gon contacted Yoda from "beyond" and Yoda will teach Kenobi. It had never been done before. That's how Obi-Wan can talk to Luke in the earlier films. Read the novel to Ep III. it's Grrrreeaat!
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